Paradise Lost (1996)
A film review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael J. Legeros
PARADISE LOST
Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky Produced by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for language and gore) Running Time 150 minutes Reviewed at The Varsity, Chapel Hill, NC (3OCT96)
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A true-crime film that credits a "Heavy Metal Music Consultant?" Believe it or not, a sparse soundtrack by Metallica is one of the many pleasures to be partaken in PARADISE LOST: THE CHILD MURDERS AT ROBIN HOOD HILLS. This fascinating though overlong documentary from the makers of BROTHER'S KEEPER recounts the events surrounding the discovery of three murdered boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, the reaction of their families, and the resulting trial that convicted three adolescent outcasts with nary a shred of physical evidence. Though the details of the crime-- involving sexual mutilation-- are graphic enough to make your hair stand on end, the most harrowing portrait of evil is that of an unforgiving Christian community. Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsy, who were given access to anyone and everyone associated with the trial, take us into the churches, the trailer parks, and, in one unforgettable sequence, onto the firing range where a grieving father imagines the suspects as the giant pumpkin he's using for target practice. Recommended.
Grade: B+
-- Mike Legeros Corporate Training SAS Institute Inc, Cary, NC, USA, Earth mailto: legeros@unx.sas.com (w) legeros@pagesz.net (h)
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